September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number ELEVEN - 2016 Allen Ginter Corey Seager Base Mini Parallel EXT Variant Now BGS Graded Mint 9.0

2016 Allen Ginter Corey Seager EXT Mini Parallel

A lot of minis in this batch and the Corey has the majority of them. Among them are a lot of Ginters and like the others I believe this one does not have a significant flaw to stop it from earning an overall grade of at least a 9.5.

Even though Ginters are of the paper variety I seem to have more luck than not when I submit them for grading and hope it continues with this one as since these EXT are limited I do not want to search for another one if this somehow received a grade I do not like. I'm saying it won't. = )

I submitted 3 mini EXT Ginters and this is the only one that did NOT earn a gold banner and is stuck with this silver banner...for now.

I saw nothing wrong with this card while I had it in my hands and sure enough 3 of the sub grades were 9.5's but the corners checked in with an 8.5. Again, 11 cards in and the majority of issues has been with corners. What...the....hell. Well unlike the couple other ones that only needed a .5 bump to get an overall 9.5 this one is marked for a RCR when Beckett is back in March. 8.5... da hell?

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2015/16 Upper Deck Trilogy : Derek Forbort Base Autograph

Yesterday I showcased my acquisition of Felix Potvin from the 2015/16 Trilogy set and while that was the main get for me from that release there was one other card I had my eye on and even though it took a little longer than I thought it would to obtain it I finally landed it for a handful of change.

My quest to pick up autograph cards of all players to wear a Kings sweater continues to pick up steam with this card's purchase. Though I despise sticker autographs I am not as stingy to them when it comes to Hockey cards compared to Baseball cards. Derek is a new player on the 2x Stanley Cup champions and of course I wanted a copy of this card for my collection. Since I do not subscribe to a Hockey price guide I go by gut feeling for all my purchases while also cross referencing past eBay sales. After a few weeks of trying to low ball a win for this card I finally had one of my high bids stick. I ended up winning this for a grand total of just $2.51. Sticker or not that is a decent deal. Now back to more baseball cards.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2015/16 Upper Deck Trilogy : Felix Potvin Signature Pucks Autograph

The Cat...

When Felix came to the Kings in the 2000-2001 season that was when my love for Kings hockey really took off as I loved watching him play. While his time with the team was short he reopened my eyes to Hockey. I enjoyed watching the occasional game in the 90's but the playoff classic between Felix and the Kings and Patrick Roy and the Avalanche in the early 2000's really got me going again for the sport that I still love today and is second in my heart behind baseball.

Since Felix didn't spend a lot of years with the Kings he has had very few (maybe none as I never saw one prior to this year) autograph cards with him in a Kings sweater. When the checklist was released for this years Trilogy set from Upper Deck I noticed he was represented in it and I knew I would finally get my hands on a copy.

Took a little longer than expected as I underestimated Potvin's market in the card hobby. Had to wait it out a month but I finally was able to lock this card in from our friends in the north. Canada never lets me down and this time was no different. I finally have my very own Felix the Cat autograph to call my own.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number TEN - 2015 Bowman's Best Clayton Kershaw Hi Def Insert Autograph (27/50) Now BGS Graded Mint 9.0

2015 Bowman's Best Clayton Kershaw Hi Def Autograph (27/50)

For a thick card I am very surprised that this one seems to be void of any issues and I expect to add yet another gem mint autograph to my Kershaw autograph collection. The only thing that might arise but minor if it does is that the surface has a few indentations in it but I think all of these have them so we shall see what Beckett thinks about that. 

Well I was right as the surface did indeed earn less than a 9.5 as it checked in with a 9 but what I didn't expect was that the corners earning an 8.5. Was this yet another card that graders dropped while in their care? Hmmm.... Edges also came in with less than a gem mint grade with their 9 so in the end I have yet another mint 9 Kershaw autograph for the collection. While I expected a gem I am happy with this 9 as there are a lot more gems to come and at the end of the day a 9 for an autograph is a'ok for me.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number NINE - 2015 Gypsy Queen Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Silver Parallel (39/50) Now BGS Graded Mint 9.0

2015 Gypsy Queen Clayton Kershaw Autograph Silver Parallel (39/50)

It may not be a 9.5 but it's nice knowing that I will be adding another mint Kershaw autograph to the collection especially considering I was pretty sure this would come in as an 8.5 from the raw card review. Considering this is a silver parallel I guess it is appropriate that it will have a silver banner above it. 

When I submitted this to Beckett for a RCR I crossed my fingers that it would come back as a 9 and not a 8.5 which I feared and my prayers were answered as it indeed received a 9. Off to Dallas the card went to get the full slab treatment and with it I would learn what the sub grades actually were and I am surprised that this was closer to a 9.5 than an 8.5. 

I expected the corners and/or edges to earn an 8.5 but neither did with edges actually earning a 9.5. 2 9's and 2 9.5's were the subs and even though I would only need 1 sub to get an extra .5 to get a gold banner I will not be doing that as I am satisfied with this card's return. 

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number EIGHT - 2013 Bowman Chrome Corey Seager Base Green Refractor Parallel Now BGS Graded Mint 9.0

2013 Bowman Chrome Corey Seager Green Refractor Parallel

... and yet another Corey Seager parallel from the 2013 Bowman Chrome set and my fingers continue to be crossed as I really want to have my project upgraded to all gem mints. This has been my favorite project to accomplish and I can see the finish line. Looking at this card under the loop the only thing I can see "wrong" with it is that it is ever so off centered. Of all the cards I am trying to get upgrades on this is the one I am most confident of a 9.5 return.

Got to love it. I submitted 3 Seager cards looking for upgrades for my rainbow project of his and stated that this was the one I was most confident on receiving a 9.5 and of course me saying that jinxed it. Of the 3 this is the ONLY one NOT to get a 9.5 but it was ever so close and I am debating if I will find another green one to try to get a bold banner or send this in for a RCR and try my luck with a different grader. 

I was right that the centering would be the issue but I didn't think it was that bad to earn an 8.5 instead of a 9 on that sub grade. The other 3 subs received 9.5's so I was so close to an upgrade for my collection. Sigh...

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number SEVEN - 2011 Topps Chrome Clayton Kershaw Base Sepia Parallel (91/99) Now BGS Graded Mint 9.0

2011 Topps Chrome Clayton Sepia Refractor Parallel (91/99)

I put these sepia parallels in the same boat as the black and white parallels. Even though sometimes they are not numbered (this one is) I want to have them all as I just like the contrast from the traditional colored cards. 

While this card's value will not be overly affected by a 9.5 from BGS I like them in cases and think this one earns that grade even though centering is a tad off but not too much to downgrade that sub to an 8.5. 

Well I was right about the centering being off as it did indeed earn a 9 and not a 9.5 on that particular sub grade but what I didn't expect was the 8.5 on surfaces and the 9 on corners as I did not see anything while inspecting it prior to turning it into Beckett for the grading treatment. 

Was hoping for a gold banner but not saddened by the silver one it earned instead. I am looking on the bright side here as silver is more color coordinated with this Sepia parallel. Yeah that's it.

=)

Thank for for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number SIX - 2009 Topps Tribute Clayton Kershaw Base Black Parallel (12/99) Now BGS Graded Mint 9.0

2009 Topps Tribute Clayton Kershaw Black Parallel (12/99)

The 1 card in the batch that will not see much price appreciation if and when it comes back as a 9.5. The only reason I added this to stack was due to the insane low price I got it for and it's a limited black parallel of Kershaw. 

There is 1 corner that might hurt that sub grades return but other than that this is a very clean card of the young superstar. 

Thankfully I did not put too much stock nor cash into this card as it did not come back as a desired gem mint 9.5.

I thought there would be an issue on 1 of the corners but that problem never arose as it was surface that came in with a 8.5 sub grade to cause this to have an overall 9.0. Normally if a card of mine has 3 9.5 and 1 8.5 in sub grades I would try to go for a bump at some time in the future but this one is an exception as the value of a bump is not there.

Was hoping to get a nice 9.5 gem of Kershaw on the cheap but luck was not on my side for this one. Oh well.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin 

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Corey Seager Base Purple Refractor Parallel (7/275) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Sometimes it's better to lose out instead of winning in the beginning as in the long run that win turns into a loss. Take for instance this beautiful quad 9.5 gem mint purple card of Corey Seager.

An eBay seller wouldn't budge on their (high) price as they had it on an OBO auction so I moved on and knew at some point I would snag a different purple down the road. I didn't want to go the raw route if it could be helped but I was open to it but thankfully I didn't have to wait long for another graded one to show up as this one did a couple days after I was rejected on the other one.

This one started with a price of 99 cents on a traditional auction. Of course I was going to be in on it and I decided at that point my ceiling on price was going to be $5 less than my offer for the other one I lost out on. A week past and in the waning moments I put in my bid and not only did I win it but I did so at over $10 less than my high bid on the other one.

So while my patience wasn't there in the beginning it paid off in the end to lose to win this one at a bargain.

Gem, gem, gem and gem

Seven

of

Two Hundred and Seventy-Five

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Stadium Club : Clayton Kershaw Base Black and White Parallel

Man I am so glad I landed yet another great gold parallel of .... hold on, that doesn't look gold to me. Did I post the wrong card? Yeah... no. Man do I love eBay auctions where the seller mislabels his cards and/or doesn't know what he has in his hands and this is yet another example of me swooping in and grabbing a deal.

I was not interested in the gold parallel in the 2016 Stadium Club set but as always I love me some black and white versions whether they are numbered or not (these are not). The gold ones book from $2.50-6 while the black and whites check in from $12-30. This particular card came up on one of my generic searches and I saw that the seller labeled and described this as the gold parallel which it's not. I crossed my fingers hoping that people would be misled and just move on and not look at the picture which clearly showed the black and white parallel. On the final day of the auction the current high price was a tad over $2 and looking to be a steal for me if I could snipe it at the very end. My bid with 2 seconds left my high bid and the winning one to boot at less than a lunch at Del Taco. Yup, a handful of dollars less than low book is what this card cost me. Next I hope it would come in good enough condition to send to BGS for grading and in hand it looks to qualify. Thank you again Mr. eBay seller for mismanaging your auction.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FIVE - 1957 Topps Sandy Koufax Base Now BGS Graded Excellent 5.0

1957 Topps Koufax

The one card where I do not care what grade is attached to it as I just want it slabbed to add it to my vintage Koufax collection. With that said I think it will earn somewhere between a 3 to 4.5 which is
good enough for me.

I am finishing off the 1st week of my BGS returns with a card that received the lowest grade of the batch and yet I under conditioned prior to submitting it as I thought it would come back no higher than a 4.5 and instead it checked in as a 5.

My 1955-1966 Koufax project is now just 1 card away (1956) from completion and this was the last one that wasn't encased by BGS/BVG yet and no matter what the grade came back as I was going to be happy. It being a 5 probably helps a little in resale value if I ever needed to move it but I have no intention of doing that and hope it never comes to it.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number FOUR - 2016 Topps Tribute Clayton Kershaw Milestones Insert (10/10) Now BGS Slabbed Authentic

2016 Topps Tribute Clayton Kershaw Milestone Insert (10/10)

Technically I know the grade or to be exact the non grade that this card will be receiving. This is one of the handful that I submitted to BGS for a raw review and I was almost 100$ sure it would earn something less than a 9 overall and I was right as it came in at a 8.5. There was no way I was letting this card go so I did something I have never done before and sent the card in for slabbing without any grade attached to it. I did this solely for the purpose of storage purposes. Grade or not this is a great piece.

With the terrible returns finished lets get to the good returns now aka less than 9.5 though this one does not fall into that category either. 

This is the 1st time I have ever sent in a card to BGS just to get it slabbed and not receive a grade affixed to it. I knew what this card probably would receive but I had no intention of selling it back on eBay due to its significance (100th win for Clayton). I also will be doing this procedure going forward for any Kershaw autograph that will not earn at least a 9 instead of reselling it. 

In the end this may or may not be a mint/gem mint card (it isn't) but it is a great piece of Kershaw history that I was lucky enough to see in person and I now have a piece from the game in a nice BGS case.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number THREE - 2016 Stadium Club Mike Trout Base Photo Variation Now BGS Graded Near Mint/Mint 8.5

2016 Stadium Club Mike Trout Photo Variation

I love me my Trout photo variations but I do not love anything less than a 9.5 but I am taking a chance on this one as it will return with a strong 9 or weak 9.5 and hopefully it will be the latter and not the former.

There is 1 corner that has fuzziness around it which is connected 1 edge which doesn't look "that" bad but we shall see what BGS thinks about it. This card would irritate me even more so if it comes back as a silver label since I "overpaid" for it.

3 cards in and terrible results for 3 Trout cards is the count so far. The only good thing to say about this one is that it is the last disappointing return of the whole batch which happens to be 56 cards large. So I am trying to look on the bright side. 

Unlike the other 2 the corners were not an issue as they came in at a 9 which I hoped for but it was the surface sub grade that earned an 8. What did I miss? Maybe I scanned it too fast and didn't see a blemish. I will be cracking and selling this back on eBay as all of my photo variations of Trout so far have been gems and this 8.5 is not acceptable.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number TWO - 2015 Topps Tribute Mike Trout Base Black Parallel (21/50) Now BGS Graded Near Mint Plus 7.5

2015 Topps Tribute Mike Trout Black Parallel (21/50)

The quality of the 2015 Tribute issue rears its ugly head here as this is borderline gem mint/mint and it all comes down to 1 corner that is noticeable even without the loop.

I tried fixing it prior to submitting and if it can pass muster and earn a 9 on that sub grade then I believe this earns a gold 9.5 banner. Of course I have my fingers crossed as I have an iffy feeling about this one. 

Another day with another Trout card result yet still the same grade and same irritation from me towards Beckett as I swear they dropped  this one just like yesterday's card.

Just like the Ginter this Tribute card earned 3 9.5 sub grades yet was given a 7 on corners. I state once again that I would never send a modern card in for grading with damage on any sub grade that would warrant a 7 as it is a waste of money. Ugh... again.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

September 2016 BGS Submission Result Number ONE - 2016 Allen Ginter Mike Trout Base Mini Parallel Brooklyn Variant (24/25) Now BGS Graded Near Mint Plus 7.5

2016 Allen Ginter Mike Trout Mini Brooklyn Parallel (24/25)

I have had great luck from BGS when it has come to mini Ginter cards of Mike Trout and I expect that trend to continue with the ones in this batch.

This is the limited (25 print run) Brooklyn back from this year's release which replaces the flag backs from previous years with the same print run. Both of those earned gold banners and I expect this one to join that group.

56 cards were submitted to BGS in my latest batch and in total I earned 2 10's, 40 9.5's and 10 9's. While every 9 was acceptable or even expected there were 3 cards that came back with highly disappointing returns and each one happens to be a Mike Trout card with the exact same problem. 

9.5,9.5,9.5 and 7. I swear someone dropped this card in Dallas as there is no way I missed the corners on this or any card I have ever submitted to BGS. I might not get the grade right on and might be a half grade lower than I think but not 2 and half grades. To say the least this card is being cracked and resold on eBay.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2010 Topps Heritage : Clayton Kershaw Base Chrome Black Refractor Parallel (48/61) PSA Graded Mint 9

How I dislike PSA graded cards but with me needing this "rare" Kershaw trumps my issue with the PSA company as I will be cracking this out anyways and submitting it to BGS for their grading treatment.

I have been on the look out for the remaining 3 black chromes of Kershaw from the Heritage brand for quite some time so when 1 does pop up I am watching it like a hawk. It has been months since 1 of the 3 showed up on the bay until this one came onto the scene. With a print run of only 61 this happens to be only the 2nd one I have ever seen. The other one was lost due to a crazy selling price. While this one is "only" mint I knew I had to have it as I did not know when I would see one at a reasonable price.

I know that centering is the main "issue" with this card as you can see from left to right it's off centered. I will not be doing a raw review but instead I will crack it out of this case and submit in raw condition to BGS in the hopes that it will earn a 9. While I would love another gem mint instead I know that is not feasible. If I am really lucky though maybe if centering can hold to a 9 and if there is another 9 sub grade I can try for a bump somewhere down the road. You never know.

Considering this was being sold by one of the auction houses on eBay I expected I would be bid up as that is their m.o. as are other sellers that sell thousands of cards. In the end even if I was indeed bid up I felt that the final price was reasonable and now I own 4 of the 7 Kershaws.

Forty-Eight

of

Sixty-One

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Chrome : Clayton Kershaw Base Sepia Refractor Parallel

Even though this year's Topps has decided to have their Sepia refractors from their Chrome set to be unnumbered I still wanted a copy of Clayton for my collection but wasn't going to pay that much to own it.

Since I wasn't in a hurry to snag this card I could pace myself on eBay and wait for the right auction to come along to acquire a copy for myself. I knew at some point I would pick it up for a low amount but didn't think it was going to be this fast. Saw this copy an on auction with a starting price of .99 which was my kind of starting point. Last day of the auction arrived and with my bid which happened to be the second and last one I won this card for a mere $1.35. Not...too...shabby.

The value of the card is obviously not that much but acquiring a card for your PC at that low of a cost is always a good thing.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2014 Topps High Tek : Clayton Kershaw Base Autograph Red Storm Diffractor Parallel (4/10)

eBucks promotion
Falling asking price
Clayton Kershaw autograph
A perfect recipe to snag another Kid K autograph for my ongoing project of my goal to own 100 Clayton autographs.

This card, like a lot of acquisitions, sat on eBay for a long while and as time passed on the price continued to go down and down as the seller obviously received no nibbles. Finally it got to a point where it was acceptable to me and with extra eBucks to be had I finally pulled the trigger and now I own yet another Kershaw autograph that looks to be in good enough condition to receive a 9.5 from BGS when I submit it to them in March of next year.

Four

of

Ten

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2016 Topps Museum : Clayton Kershaw Archival Autograph (46/50) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

Cheap BIN price.
Graded Kershaw autograph in gem mint condition.
eBay eBucks promotion.
Could...not...resist...!

It is nearing the end of the 2016 calendar year and this is the 1st and possibly only 2016 Topps Museum card that I will acquire. If it is then it is one hell of one to have.

I am determined to own 100 Kershaw autographs at some point in the future and this helps me towards that goal. Doing one of my standard Kershaw searches on eBay this popped up right when it live. I debated for a few minutes as I checked on how my own auctions were doing so I could use those funds for this acquisition. Once I was convinced that those sales would go through I came back to this card's auction and clicked the buy it now button. I also noticed that in the time it took me decide that 3 other people added it to their watch list so thankfully I didn't wait too long as I am sure it would have been picked up by another person in no time at all.

I have not done a current tally on Kershaw autographs but I know I am over 50 and probably close to 55. I think sometime in 2018 or 2019 I will reach the 100 milestone. It's a fun journey.

Forty-Six

of

Fifty

The all important 10

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Inception : Corey Seager and Yasiel Puig Dual Rise Autographs (#/25) BGS Graded Gem Mint 9.5

In 2013 I saw this card and wanted it so bad because of Puig's immediate impact on the game and the promise of Seager but of course the demand made this card's price way out of my budget.

In 2014 I still wanted this card and since Puig was still doing decent the price was still too high for my liking.

In 2015 the card was still on my watch list and with Puig's star coming down the price got a little better for me but Seager's rise was keeping the price up. At the same time I had my focus on other Seager cards that were more important to me so this continued to be wanted but not pursued.

Now it's 2016 and I decided I didn't "need" the card as Puig has fallen out of favor for me and even though I wanted all the Seager autographs I could have I felt having Puig's autograph on the card brought the overall beauty of the card down a tad. Of course if he could turn around his career this card becomes a very nice piece to own considering it's print run is just 25 even though its not numbered. Of course my thinking changed one day when I had what I believe was perfect timing.

The Inception is known for its quality issues with the corners being one the most frequent problems when submitting these cards to BGS for grading. This one happens to be lucky as they earned a 9.5. Over the years I have seen this card sell for north of $300 and I want to say if my memory serves me correctly I saw it clear $400 back in 2013 during Puig's incredible run. I could be wrong but prices were ridiculous for his autographs in 2013. I should know as I sold a gem mint Puig auto for a gem mint Trout red ink auto (#/31) AND had money left over. Try doing that today!

There are 5 of these cards that have been graded by Beckett and only 2 of them are 9.5/10. There is another gem mint but that came back with a 9 on autograph. I wasn't specifically looking for this card but when I did one of my Seager searches it popped up as just being listed at a price that was lower than I ever expected to see a graded one go for. The seller did not show the back of the card so I did not know what the auto grade was but a quick check on Beckett revealed that this was 1 of the 2 that earned a 10 autograph. I debated a second if I really wanted to add this to my collection since it has a Puig autograph but the wanting of having another Seager autograph in gem mint condition was too strong for me to resist so I clicked the button and sent over the payment.

Do I regret making the transaction? At any other price I would have to say yes but for what I "paid" to me it was/is a steal considering the gold banner that adorns the case.

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.

-Penguin